Clutch



J. B. HOWE.

CLUTCH.

APPLICATION man DEC. 13, 1920.

Patented Aug. 1,1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- almi- -J. B. HOWE. I

Patented Aug. L 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

CLUTCH- APPLICATION FILED nsc.1s,19zo. L4Q,]l65.

:gb i

JOSEPH B. HOWE, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 GEORGE S.

HARWOOD & SON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A COPARTNERSHIP CON- SISTING- OF SYDNEY HARWOOD, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND JOHN H. HARWOOD, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CLUTCH.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgntgfl Aug, 1, 1922 Application filed December 13, 1920. Serial No. 430,568.

T 0 all to 710m it may concern Be it known that I, JosnPH B. HOWE, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Clutches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to carding feeders and more particularly to a clutch mecha' nism for use in such machineswhereby to control the operation of the spike apron and associated parts. A machine of the general class to which this invention may be applied is illustrated in the patent to Bramwell 216,373, June 10, 1879, the present invention relating to specific improvements in a clutch mechanism such as disclosed in the patent to Howe, 998,003, July 18, 1911.

The principal object of this invention is to so improve a clutch of the above type as to render its operation certain at all times and to make it of practical utility under all usual conditions of employment.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the inven 'tion;-

Figure l is a fragmentary elevational View of the upper right hand side of the machine showing the clutch of this invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the clutch mechanism with the drive pulley removed but with a fragment thereof shown in sec tion;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line AB of Figure 2, but showing the complete drive pulley in position on the shaft;

Figure 4- is a fragmentary elevation si1nilar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts in another position; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional detail on the line C--D of Fig. 2.

The frame of the carding feeder machine is indicated at 1, such frame having suitable supporting and driving means for an endless carrier 2 provided with pins or spikes 3 whereby to elevate fiber from a suitable bin. This endless carrier is known in the art as a spike apron, and cooperating with the down going side of such apron is an oscillating dotting device mounted upon a shaft 1 and driven in any suitable manner. Cooperating also with the up going side of the spike apron is an oscillating comb carried by the arm indicated at P and actuated in any suitable manner.

Extending transversely across the machine frame near its upper part is a drive shaft 5 by means of which the spike apron, and if desired, the shaft 4. may be driven. The shaft 5 has loosely mounted thereon at the right hand side of the frame a pulley wheel 6. The pulley wheel 6 may be driven by means of belt, not shown, from any suitable source of power.

A scale pan 7 is arranged in position to receive the fiber doffed from the down going side of the spike apron, such pan being car ried by a scale beam 8 fulcrumed at 8 The tipping of the scale pan 7 through suitable connections as indicated at 9 serves to actuate a trip device 10. This trip device, in normal position, is operative to support the weighted end 13 of a dog 12 pivoted at 12 upon a suitable bracket carried by the frame. The dog 12 has a tooth 11 engageable with teeth or lugs 14:, carried by a clutch disengaging wheel 12, hereinafter referred to in detail.

For returning the dog 12 to normal position, a connecting rod 15 may haveits upper end pivotally secured thereto, the lower end of such connecting rod passing freely throu h an opening in a boss 15 carried by a ever arm 16, such rod having a fixed stop member 15 at its lower extremity. The lever 16 is pivoted at 16 and has a lower arm 19 and a lateral arm 22. Loosely engaging a pin carried at the outer extremity of the arm 22 is a loop 23 at the lower end of a rod 23 secured to a member 23 carried by the scale pan.

The arm 22 with its connections just described serves on its downward movement to open the scale pan for dumping, and on its upward movement to restore the scale pan and beam to normal position. The lever 16 is provided with a cam surface 21 engageable by a cam roll 20 carried by a rotating gear Wheel 19 and the arm 19 of the lever 16 has a cam surface 18 for engagement by a .it will be noted that the pulley 6 is provided with a hub 6 which is freely turnable on] the shaft 5. Such hub at its inner end is reduced in diameter as at 34 and its reduced portion is received within the forward end of a sleeve 32 keyed upon the shaft. The pulley 6 may be retained on the shaft by means of a collar 37, or in other suitable manner. The inner side of the drive pulley 6 is provided with a flange having upon its inner face a plurality of drive lugsj31.

In usual practice three such lugs are found to be sufficient. Fixed upon the rear end of the collar 32 is a disk member 38 having a smooth peripheral surface 39. Forward of. said disk 38 is a frame member 41 loose on the collar 32, and-at 42 is a clutch disengaging wheel also loose on the collar 32.

In front of the wheel 4-2, the sleeve 32 is provided with a collar 40 which may be fixed thereto or integral therewith, Such collar bears against the forward surface of the wheel 42 and serves to maintain the v latter-in proper position on the sleeve.

'Thewheel 42 is provided with a forward- 1y directed flange 44 which encloses the col lar 40, and upon its peripheral surface the wheel 42 is provided with the teeth 14 above referred to. Such teeth may be'of any .de sired number, it being found in practice that thirty such teeth give desirable results.

45 is a sector fast to the sleeve 32, and desired integral. with the collar 40, said sec" torhavi'ng pivoted thereupon, at the point 46, a dog member 47. Thedog member. 47 has a lug 48 engagea-ble by any oneof the lugs 31 of the drive pulley 6, 'wherebyto rotate the shaft 5.. i I

is an actuator having a .toe 49 which normally projects outwardly between end walls 50, 51 of the flange 44 of the wheel 42, such walls defining an opening 52 through the flange. The actuator 49 is pivoted upon a lug 53 projecting rearwardly from the sector 45. The actuator is provided with a forwardly extending pin 56 which projects through an arcuate slot 54 in the sector 45 of which slot the point 46 is the center of curvature. The pin .56 also projects loosely throughan elongated slot 55in the dog 47 said .slot being substantially radial as-respects the axis about which said dog turns. The" dog 47 is continued to the opposite side of the pivot point 46,to provide a tail 5? with which engages one end of a spring 58 which is coiled under tension about the forwardend of the sleeve 32 (see Fig. 3). i

The other end 59 of the spring 58 is secured in a lug 60, projecting forwardly from the face of the wheel 42.

61 is a stop lug also projecting forwardly from the face of the wheel 42 and in a position to engage the edge of thesector 45 under certain conditions of operation. If desired the wall 50 of the opening 52 in the flange 44 may be continued as a cam sur face 62 leading gradually from the normal thickness of the flange to the substantially thicker end portion thereof at 50.

The frame 41 is provided with an offset portion 63 lying substantially in the plane of the disk member 38. The frame has an opening 64-, whose outer wallconsists of a series of inclined faces 65, separated by curved sockets 65 lVithin such curved sockets, in'the normal operation of the machine, lie rolls 66 having flanges 67, 68 overlying the opposite surfaces of the member 63, whereby the rolls are maintained in operative position. These rolls as clearly indicated in Fig. 3, bear upon the outer surface 39 of the disk 38, and when the shaft 5 is turning in its normal counterclockwise direction, such rolls rotate freely in their sockets.

If, however for any reason the shaft should start to rotate in the opposite direction, the rolls will be carried against the inclined faces 65, and are thereby-made to serve as roller brake elements, securely holding the shaftagainst rotation in such reverse direction.

The member 63, as herein disclosed, is provided. with an outstanding arm 69 provided with an elongated substantially radial slot 69 such slot receiving loosely therein a pin '70 fixed to the machine frame. The frame has been shown in Fig. 1 as occupying theposition which it will normally occupy when the'shaft 5 is turning. Figs 2 and a modified arrangement of the frame 4-1 has been shown the mode of i operation however being unchanged.

In the operation of the device above described, and with the parts normally positioned as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 the shaft 5'; may be driven by engagement of the lug with the lug 48 of the dog 47. The latter through its connection to sector 45 serves to turn the shaft. The wheel 42 will normally rotate with the shaft due to the reaction of the spring; 58 against the lug 60 and alsoby reason of the engagement oftheactuator 49 with the walls 50, olof the flange 44. as the fiber is doffed from the spike apron, the scale pan 7 becomes loaded until it tips, thereby swinging the scale-beam 8. This lifts the rod 9, tilting the trip 10 and per mitting the: dog 12 to engage its toothl'l with a hug 14 of the wheel 4-2; Immediately upon stopping therotation of wheel 42, the continued rotation of the sector 45 under the momentum of the driven parts serves to outdraW the actuator 49 from the opening 52. The wall 50 serves during such action as a cam to swing the actuator inwardly about its pivot 53.

In the normal operative position of the parts, the reaction of spring 58 is such as to force the nose 49 of the actuator into contact with the cam wall 51 of slot 52. The engagement of these parts serves to over come any tendency of the spring to swing dog 4;? about its pivot 4-6. As however, the actuator is positively swung inwardly by the cam Wall 50, the pin comes into contact with the right hand wall, of slot thus swin the dog t? about its pivot 46 until the lug 4.8 is disengaged from the drive lug 31. /Vhen the outer end of the lug 48 has moved out of engagement with the lug 31,

i the leverage of the spring 58 upon the tail 5? of the dog serves immediately to swing the dog l? still further. hen the pin 56 engages the inner end of the slot 54 the dog continues to move under action of the spring until pin 56 engages the left hand wall of slot The lu 31 of the drive pulley may now rotate freely past the lug d8 of the dog without striking the same or causing undesirable noise.

The shaft 5 comes to rest while the pulley 6 continues to rotate and the parts remain .in the position last described until, upon dumping of the scale pan through the action of the connections previously described, the dog 12 is restored to normal position wherein it is disengaged from the teeth i l of the wheel 42. immediately upon such disengagement, the spring 58, reacting against the lug 60. turns the wheel. 42 in a counter clockwise direction, causing the relatively stationary actuator nose 49 to contact with the cam surface The actuator is thereby caused to protrude through the opening 52, and by engagement'oil' the pin 56 with the left-hand wall of the slot, the dog 4:? is caused to swing outwardly, whereby to bring its lug -l-8 into the path of one of the pulley lugs 31, thus again serving to rotate the shaft as the shaft is brought to rest, there is a tendency for the spike apron, which is loaded on its upgoing side with fiber, to rcversely rotate such shaft 5, and this is accentuated by the action of the vibrating comb. To prevent such reverse rotation, the roller brake device comprising the frame all and the rollers 66 has been provided. The rollers 66 by engagement with the disk 3 serve to hold the shaft securely against any reverse rotation.

As the parts driven by the shaft have considerable weight and momentum, it has been found to occur, when a clutch such as that disclosed in the patent to Howe above noted is employed, that after the clutch disengaging wheel has been stopped, the momentum of the shaft may carry the sector member to a point such that the driving dog may strik forcibly against the hub of the sector. in the present device however, the parts have been so proportioned that such striking and locking of the parts under the momentum of the shaft has been substantially eliminated. The sector, with the dog l7, and the actuator 4:9, may swing freely within the flange is as clearly indicated in F'g'. 4. As it is found in practice however, that such movement seldom extends more than a. quarter revolution, it has been found desirable to place a stop lug 61 at a point such as to permit any desired turning of the sector with reference to the locked wheel 4-2, while still serving to limit unnecessary manual movement of these parts, whereby breaking stress might be imposed on spring 58.

In device such as that shown in the patent to Howe above noted, it is sometimes found that if in stopping, the drive dog is carried into positive engagement with the hub of its sluiporting sector, as above described. the stop cog can not be diseng cd from the tooth of the clutcl'i disenga ing wheel. This locking appears to be due to the fact that the locking pawl therein employed is able, due to the tx'visting of the shaft under momentum. to secu re a hold upon the ratchet wheel so advanced that it serves to retain the torsional strain in the shaft. This puts an extremely heavy strain upon the dog which engages the tooth of the clutch disengaging Wheel, and such strain may be so great as to prevent the ready disengage ment of such dog. In accordance with the present invention however, the freedom of movement of the sector l5 serves to avoid any such locking of the parts, as the sector is free to turn under the effects of momenturn, and may move backward to the slight extent necessary to reduce the torsional strain in the shaft to zero.

l he roller brake reverse preventing device as herein constructed is also of utility in preventing such locking of the parts and would be effective for this purpose even if applied to a clutch such as disclosed in the patent to Howe, referred to. To permit the roller brake device to have this function, its frame it has been furnished with the slot 69 above referred to. In the normal position, during driving of the shaft, the friction between the rolls 66 and the disk serves to retain the frame 63 in such post tion that the pin 70 coi'itacts with the bot tom wall of slot (39 (or the right-hand wall thereof as shown in Fig. Upon stop ping of the shaft 5 and disengagement of the clutch elements, the torsional strain in the shaft will be reduced to zero by the slight backward movement of the frame ll permitted by the play of pin in slot 69. Such movement need be of butsmall amount accomplish the desired result. Immediately upon the reduction of the torsional strain,

the rolls 66 become effective to hold the shaft against reverse rotation.

While the invention has been herein dis closed as employed in a machine of the specified type, it is clearly evident that the clutch device herein disclosed may be of general application and it is further clear that various changes and modifications in the shapes and arrangements of parts might readily be introduced without in any manner departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Having thus described the invention in a preferred embodiment of the same together with the mode of use thereof what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A driven shaft and a driving pulley and in combination therewith, a clutch device for connecting the pulley and shaft, said clutch device comprising a support fast on the shaft, a driving dog pivoted on said support, said. dog having a tail projecting beyond its pivot, a spring element engaging the tail of the dog and constantly tending to swing said dog to inoperative position, and means constructed and arranged to render such spring element ineffective to swing the dog during the normal, driving operation of the clutch, but in stopping to permit such spring to become effective for such purpose upon movement of the dog initiated by other means.

2. In combination with a shaft, a clutch whereby the same may intermittently be driven, said clutch comprising a support fast on the shaft, a driving dog pivoted upon said support, said dog having a driving nose atone end and a tail at the opposite end, a rotatable part engageable with said nose for driving said dog, and a spring element engaging the tail of the dog and constantly tending to swing said dog whereby to disengage the driving nose thereof from said rotatable part, and means normally operative when the clutch parts are in driving position to oppose the swinging of the dog about its pivot by said spring.

,8. In combination with a driving pulley and a driven shaft, a clutch device interposed therebetween and having disengageable elements together with mechanism for disengaging said elements, said clutch comprising a driving lug fast to said pulley and moving in a fixed circular path, a support fast to said shaft, a driven member pivotally mounted on said support and shiftable into and out of said fixed path, and a coiled spring member surrounding said shaft and having one extremity thereof engaging said shiftable member, said spring being opera tive alternately tomove said shiftable mem bertoward and from said path.

4. In combination with a shaft, a pulley loose thereon, and a clutch interposed between said pulley and shaft, said clutch comprising a driving lug fast to said pulley and moving in a fixed path about said shaft, a support fast to the shaft, a dog pivoted upon said support and having an element engage able by said driving lug, a clutch shifting wheel loose on the shaft, said wheel having a circumferential flange, and an actuator having an arm normally projecting through an opening in said flange, the parts being constructed and arranged to permit the complete withdrawal of said arm from said opening upon disengagement of said driving lug from the dog. I

A clutch having disengageable elements and comprising a driving member and a driven member, one member moving in a fixed circular path and the other member being shiftable into and out of said fixed path, and a single spring device having an element thereof in direct engagement with said shift-able member whereby to move said member completely away from said path in stopping, and means engaging another element of said spring device and indirectly' operative thereby to restore said shiftable member to operative position in starting.

6. A clutch having disengageable elements and mechanism to engage and disengage said elements, said clutch comprising a driving member and a driven member, one member moving in a fixed circular path and the other member being shiftable into and out of said fixed path, and a spring having one extremity in engagement with said shiftable member, said spring being constructed and arranged upon disengagement of said elements directly to move said shiftable element away from said fixed circular path and to become operative thereafter indirectly to restore said member to such path for reengaging said elements.

7. In combination with a shaft and a driving pulley, a clutch comprising a driving lug fast to said pulley, a support fast to the shaft, av driving dog mounted upon the support, a clutch shifting wheel loose upon said shaft, a lever member pivoted to said dog and having an arm normally in operative engagement with an element of said shifting wheel, the parts being constructed and arrangedto permit disengagement of said. arm and element upon stopping said wheel.

8. In a clutch device, a drive pulley having a lug thereon, a shaft having a dog for engagement by said lug, a rotatable stopping wheel, means carried by said shaft and normally operative positively to rotate said stopping wheel and means for bringing said stopping wheel to rest, the parts being cons stnucted and arranged automatically to c0mpletely disengage said stopping wheel driving means therefrom as said wheel is brought to rest.

9. in a clutch device a shaft, a drive pulley loose thereon, a lug carried by said pullcy, a support fast on the shaft, a dog pivoted to said. support and having an arm engageable with said lug, a lever pivotally secured to said dog and having an outstand ing arm, a stopping wheel loose on the shaft and having a flange provided with an open ing through which said arm normally projects, and means for bringing said stopping wheel to rest, the parts being so constructed and arranged as to permit said lever arm to be withdrawn completely within said flange and to move therein in an arcuate path of substantial. extent upon cessation of movement of said stopping wheel.

10. In a clutch device in combination a. shaft, a drive element movable in a circular fined path about said shaft as an axis, a support fast to the shaft, a dog pivoted to said support and having a part for engagement with said drive element and being also provided with a substantially radial slot, an actuator comprising a bell crank lever pivoted to said dog and having a pin projecting from one of its arms and loosely engaging said slot, a stop wheel loosely mounted upon the shaft and provided with a flange having an opening through which loosely projects the other arm of said bell crank lever, a spring encircling said shaft and having one end engaging said dog and its opposite end secured to said stop wheel, and means for bringing said stop wheel to rest.

11. In a clutch device, in combination a shaft, a pulley loosely rotatable thereon, a support fast tot-he shaft, a drive dog pivoted to said support and engageable by an element of said pulley, a stop wheel freely rotatable on said shaft and having a circumferential flange, a part engageable by an element of said flange for shifting said dog out of engagement with the driving element of the pulley, a stop lug projecting from said stop wheel and means for bringing said stop wheel to rest, the parts being so c0nstructed andv arranged that upon. cessation of movement of said stop wheel, said shaft with the fixed support may continue its movement under momentum until said sup port is arrested by said stop lug.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this third day of December, 1920.

JOSEPH B. HOWE. 

